Rabat: The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that the draw for the Preliminary Round of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 Qualifiers will be held in Rabat, Morocco on Tuesday.

According to Qatar News Agency, a total of 12 teams will take part in the Preliminary Round, which contains the lower placed sides in the latest FIFA World Rankings, while the remaining 42 nations have qualified directly for the group stage of the qualifiers.

The 12 teams will be divided into two Pots: the six highest-ranked teams in Pot 1, who will face the six lowest-ranked teams of Pot 2, with the first leg of each tie played at the home venue of the lower-ranked team.

Pot 1 (Highest Ranked Teams) will include: Lesotho, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, South Sudan, and Mauritius; whereas Pot 2 (Lowest Ranked Teams) will consist of: Chad, Sao Tome and Principe, Djibouti, Somalia, Seychelles, and Eritrea.

The six winning teams will advance to join the 42 highest-ranked nations in the draw for the Group Stage matches of the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2027 Qualifiers.